Voice paging system providing deferred paging capability

A central controller for transferring information to a paging receiver which is capable of generating a coded acknowledgement signal indicating the operating mode of the paging receiver in response to receiving a selective call paging signal, said central controller comprising:

• a paging controller for receiving information data designating the paging receiver from an entry device;
• an encoder responsive to the data for generating the selective call paging signal designating the paging receiver;
• a transmitter, being responsive to said encoder, for transmitting the selective call paging signal to the paging receiver;
• a receiver for receiving the coded acknowledgement signal indicating the operating mode of the designated paging receiver;
• a coded acknowledgement signal decoder, coupled to said receiver, for decoding the coded acknowledgement signal and for generating a message transmission control signal in response thereto, wherein said paging controller is responsive to said transmission control signal for effecting the transmission of the information to the designated paging receiver;
• and
• voice prompting means, coupled to said paging controller and responsive to the received coded acknowledgment signal, for generating a voice prompt indicating the operating mode of the designated receiver to the entry device.

A paging receiver for receiving a selective call paging signal and information intended for the paging receiver being transmitted from a central controller, said paging receiver comprising:

• a receiving means for receiving the selective call paging signal;
• a decoding means, being responsive to said receiving means, for decoding the selective call paging signal and generating a control signal in response thereto;
• switching means for selecting a normal and a deferred paging operating mode and generating a mode signal in response thereof;
• processing means, being responsive to the control signal and to said mode signal, for generating a coded acknowledgment signal indicating the designated paging receiver operating mode;
• transmitting means included in the paging receiver for transmitting to the central controller the coded acknowledgment signal;
• and
• memory means coupled to said receiving means and responsive to said processing means, for storing the received information when the deferred paging operating mode is selected.

A paging receiver for receiving a selective call paging signal and information intended for the pagint receiver being tranmitted from a controller, said paging receiver comprising:

• a receiving means for receiving the selective call paging signal;
• a decoding means, being responsive to said receiving means, for decoding the selective call paging signal and generating a control signal in response thereto;
• switching means for selecting a normal and a deferred paging operating mode and generating a mode signal in response thereof;
• processing means, being responsive to the control signal for generating a coded acknowledgment signal indicating the designated paging receiver operating mode;
• memory means, coupled to said processing means, for storing the received information when the deferred paging operating mode is selected;
• and
• transmitting means included in the paging receiver for transmitting to the central controller the coded acknowledgment signal.

A method for transferring information entered from an entry device coupled to a central controller to a paging receiver having selectable normal and deferred paging operating modes and memory means for storing the information, said method comprising the steps of:

• transmitting, from the central controller, a selective call paging signal designating the paging receiver to which the information is intended;
• generating a coded acknowledgment signal indicating the paging receiver operating mode, and the memory availability, in response to receiving and decoding the selective call paging signal;
• transmitting the coded acknowledgment signal to the central controller;
• and
• decoding the coded acknowledgment signal and processing the information in accordance thereto.